Alpha's and Beta's - The Confinuing Battle

A few nights ago I had the chance to see a documentary called "Mansome" (2012) which was directed by Morgan Spurlock, the dude everyone watched gorge on McDonalds until he threw up. This film touched on a few different things about how men have changed over the last few decades, and how men have essentially turned into vagina's because the modern day media has destroyed the concept and identity of the true alpha. Actually, the synopsis is "A documentary that explores the question: In the age of manscaping, metrosexuals, and grooming products galore - what does it mean to be a man?" .

In short it was completely about the material things that have changed for men over time. But it failed to deliver what most of the people feel defines a manly man. It was incomplete to be short and to the point. Without understanding what is considered manly, how can one gauge what is the opposite sociologically?

One reviewer on IMDB by the name of Steve Pulaski stated, "One topic that I desperately wish the film would've centered more on is the idea of metrosexual behavior in males and how it could quickly transcend into blatant narcissism." This is a good point. This pretty much included everyone involved in the film subject wise. They were complete narcissistic prick job, fucktards. Including the very interesting beard man.

The thesis for it was just as it said, but leaves out so much about what it actually means to be a man just in general today aside from looks. As in a role model, teacher, leader, or good person in general and how iconic men live their daily lives as a true alpha male. I think it desperately needed more time spent on what defines what a real "Man" is, and not so much about how men nowadays are sniveling pussies that get their eyebrows waxed. What happened to being a man?

"No."

The film opened up my eyes and really expressed that men today are much different than men were years ago. When drinking and beating your wife and children in public were much more socially acceptable, I hardly think a man who is classified as "metrosexual" would hold up if I had a time machine and sent them to the 1930's - 1950's. Lets just guess about this scenario and say in a bare knuckle brawl between a typical man of the day and a metro male, the pampered male would probably end up crying at some point about clothes getting dirty, and the bridge of their nose being destroyed. I cannot grasp this current trend. My guess is it lies in part of natural alpha-ness. Alpha's need no reason to understand the ways of the beta just to know how to identify it, fashion a weapon, and kill it. Therefore, the mere sight of a metrosexual beta just induces rage. This is my best educated guess though. What does TSB think makes a person alpha? Well let me touch a bit on it, but from a few areas of popular interest. This is entirely different from person to person. But TSB isnt just any person. He is a man.

 "When smoking was still pretty damn cool."

Short thoughts on things that are classified as Alpha according to TSB.

I have always enjoyed writing and reviewing beer. Beer snobbery. This magical liquid has been linked to man for centuries. It is what binds society together and makes it functional and happy. Beer is not just a drink to get drunk on, but one to behold and savor. Its an art to make it and to appreciate it. I love beer. And I think beer is an alpha facet to appreciate. Along with beer a new area of understanding is whiskey for me. Both beer and hard liquors are to be things I always link to past times of the gentleman. Not talking about drunks necessarily. They are things to be taken in moderation to be classified as alpha. Things I also slip into this category are the appreciation of fine cigars and pipe tobaccos, and also the mode of which one chooses to shave. Does this make one alpha? No. Not on its own. However, these things do help define a refined man.

Its not just pastimes or a means of one relaxes I suppose. Hobbies and life skills are pretty important to a modern day alpha. I mainly think of skills that are useful and in need like automotive repair, gardening, woodworking, smithing and welding, cooking, carpenters/construction/electrical/HVAC, or any skill to be more self sufficient fit in this area. The alpha is a learning breed that never stops at one subject but is advancing in many things over the course of time. These types of things to learn and study make a person much more important in a group. They are essential to others who need it. Think of Ron Swanson from Parks and Recreation. He relies on no one else for his well being. He is a poster child for most of this already mentioned and should be a role model for future generations. Swanson is the definition of all that is alpha. He is an ideal figure to base what should be alpha male I think.

Full size available here for downloading. Print and put in your son's room for full effect.

Aside from these few short things what makes a person more alpha than beta is ultimately how he carries himself. How he promotes fairness, and honesty, and loyalty to the people he comes in contact with. How one treats others. Its about doing what is right all the time. Its about doing what is right when no one is looking. Its about being confident, and willing to fight for what is right and willing to be physical to maintain status. He is a man that is respected, a selfless leader, and entirely capable which means he is also feared among all ranked below him.

These characteristics make the difference. It literally makes all the difference. Today people are fake and counterfeit. Real people are hard to come by today, and when they are found you should hold on to them real tight. 9/10 people are people not worth keeping for the long haul I think. Men have turned into blubbering, whiny, narcissistic, useless pricks because they have devolved. Taking responsibility on ones status is solely based upon themselves. Most of the time you can do the alpha thing just by simply doing what is right. Even if it is not ideally what you would initially want to do. Being a good person leads to these other things I believe. Its harder being an alpha rather than a beta that is for sure. Its worth it. And anything worth it requires more effort.

"Beard guy seemed cool. But quickly turned out to be a douche just as much as the rest of the subjects."

This film "Mansome" is a bit of laugh but more importantly a look at where men in society have gone wrong today. It is a loosely put together film that touches on random subjects related to men and was put together in an awful manner to portray the extreme ends of male today. From a man who has a beard that runs his entire life, to a man who is addicted to fulfilling his desire to look good because of teasing in high school, it was cringe worthy most definitely more than once. They both were filled with self importance registering off the charts on the pretentious asshole scale. It should be called "The Beautiful Betas" because all of the males presented were about piss poor examples from the start. The only saving grace from this monstrosity of beta filled nonsense were the parts about Barbers. For the record, I would kick both of the aforementioned "men" in their gullets without so much as flinching if given the opportunity.

"Is that a fucking orange slice in my beer?"

Attract positive, denounce the negative. Learn to be honest. Be stern, and be fair. Be a leader and a teacher. Be a family man, and a reliable, dependable contact. Be a friend and a companion. Be feared when confronted, be a force to be reckoned with when applicable and necessary. Be a figure for other children and young men to look up to as an ideal example of what being a man encompasses.Take the wheel and direct your life in the path you want to and stop waiting for things to come your way by some cosmic force. Its time for change. Its time for boys to turn into men again. Its way overdue. This current fad trending with only physical importance and lack of character, needs to die and go away never to return again.

Check out Mansome. Its a watch atleast once film. Although this film could only rate a strong 5/10 on my scale of greatness, (and I am being generous considering the amount of beta involved) it is worth seeing to use as a tool to identify the characters to avoid in life's daily endeavors.

-TSB




Links:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2294729/

http://www.artofmanliness.com/

http://www.wisegeek.org/what-is-an-alpha-male.htm

Sleep, NSAID'S, or Suicide - Migraine Solutions

Even with the aid of the Internet, expensive doctor visits and Neurologist studies, these are basically your options for treatment. If you haven't figured out what the wonderful subject matter is, I am referring to Migraine headaches.

What is a Migraine? (according to WebMD)
"Migraines are painful headaches often accompanied by nausea, vomiting, and sensitivity to light."

How many people suffer from Migraines?
28 million people estimated, and more women get migraines than men. 

What causes them?
"The exact causes of migraines are unknown, although they are related to changes in the brain as well as to genetic causes. People with migraines may inherit the tendency to be affected by certain migraine triggers, such as fatigue, bright lights, weather changes, and others. [...] A migraine begins when hyperactive nerve cells send out impulses to the blood vessels, causing them to clamp down or constrict, followed by dilation (expanding) and the release of prostaglandins, serotonin, and other inflammatory substances that cause the pulsation to be painful."

Triggers list

• Stress
• Chemicals and preservatives in food
• Caffeine 
• Weather changes
• Menstrual Periods
• Skipping meals
• Changes in normal sleep pattern

So there you go, a short excerpt from what any average person will find out doing a quick search on the web about migraines. This information does little to no justice for what it actually is, or what it feels like. And for the first time I will go to the extent to explain my personal experiences with such medical anomalies.


Currently as I type this, I am battling the day after effects of one of these migraines, and maybe I can shed some light on this subject and give some sort of explanation. And with that, it will require some background information.

"This picture pops up when you search for awkward family photo"

When I was younger, much younger in my early teenage years, my sister and I both experienced migraines for bouts of time. My sister whom is 15 months younger than I was seeing a neurologist for ADHD and ADD had an easy in to find a remedy. I had them fairly randomly, where as my sister had them more common, and was trying to find triggers for hers. She was prescribed medicine, Sumatriptan (Imitrex) in pill and nasal spray if I remember correctly. My father also randomly got migraines. Most notably, he got one from putting up Christmas lights. He said something like "the little light bulb left his vision starting to get blurry, and hindered. Like a splotch that wouldn't go away." Like when you get a picture taken with a flash on. The little aura stayed. He took Excedrin migraine to battle it, and slept for something like 17 hours. I remember checking to make sure he didn't die in his sleep or something weird.  We suffered from them all for periods. But the triggers were rather random.

My sister linked hers to specific foods. I can only be certain that one she said was hot dogs, and bratwursts. Mine were completely random. No reason I could find. My dad was environmentally set off it seemed.

Genetics are somewhat to blame. But with very different triggers/factors to look at its hard to figure. And after 5 or more years of going on living life without a single migraine, yesterday I had one. Randomly I add. And it was bad. Crippling bad.

The Setting:

"This is what it looks like normally, without a migraine. TSB vision activated."

 I was at work, doing all my normal things and suddenly I noticed I had a little blotchy aura (like the camera flash blotch) that wasn't going away. In my experience, I usually just go, "Meh, it will go away." I used to have this crazy belief that if I tried to forget about it it would go away. Not this time. Knowing that It had the chance to go full blown level 5, red alert, dropping nukes inside my skull, type of migraine... I clocked out, went to the grocery store and bought some generic migraine medicine and took it. This all happened within 15 minutes of the symptoms starting.

"By the time I came back and took the medicine this is what it looks like"

For visual representation, I will use an image to explain what happens in stages and time frame. For the unknowing I am a full blown visual migraine sufferer. It is pretty much debilitating when it occurs as you turn into a useless, sensory sensitive, noodle person.

Some time went by. I was really hoping the purchase of the medicine was not needed, and that it would go away. Another 30 minutes later I started to feel agitated and overall irritated, sweaty, nauseous, sensitive to sounds and light, and my hands were getting tingly. The welling up in my stomach was making it fairly easy to assume if I wanted to puke I had that option. Sometimes puking makes you feel better. My sisters medicine actually did it to both of us. The nose spray would make you instantly want to puke wherever you were. You would go to hock a loogie and spit and its all medicine. The taste created an instant gagging reaction, making vomiting a cinch! To the interested, I managed not to puke at my place of employment, I was worried I would have to clean it up. My visual aura got worse, much worse. After a mere half hour this is what it looked like.

 "By this time my field of vision was reduced by about 80%. Full blown Aura."

Aside from the obvious vision problems, and the other symptoms I was having there is always a signature with migraines. A sharp locatable pain behind one eye, and only on one side of my skull. For 48 hours afterwards, I get a migraine hangover feeling that lingers with any quick movement of my head. It feels like your brain is shrunken and dehydrated, and when you move its thumping against the inside of your cranium. Think of your worst hangover. Wine or dark spirits type of bad hangover. They last like that for 2 - 3 days usually.

 "Good thing I have photoshop. Helping people understand Migraine Auras since 2013."

The medicine did work partially. The aura did fade a bit. But the other symptoms were much more apparent. I had more of a tunnel vision problem. The medicine was doing its job, but I needed sleep. My work effort was reduced to standing with my head on a table, in between remedial tasks. Hardest part was driving the rest of the way home. Longest 4 miles ever. After I got home I slept. And that is pretty much all you can do.

"Gary Busey Mode activated. Insurance just went up."

I read about the triggers food wise, and I can only think of one thing that may have set my episode off. I only ate one meal before this happened so it was pretty much the only bit of evidence I could point to. And since before they were random, I never noted or wrote about what it could have been before today. I ate Salami, which I don't typically eat. Could salami be the culprit? Well let me go through this list of triggers from our friends at WebMD once more to check if there are other reasons.

• Stress - (Living paycheck to paycheck, and gun laws changing are the thing lately... maybe?)
• Chemicals and preservatives in food - (Salami has plenty of these.)
• Caffeine - (Been drinking lots of green tea to fend off the Flu, 40mg a cup. Not likely)
• Weather changes - (Without saying too much, the Midwest NEVER has typical patterns)
• Menstrual Periods - (Nope)
• Skipping meals - (Scheduled meals? People do that?)
• Changes in normal sleep pattern - (Sleep when you are dead)

After reading the list the researchers and hosts at WebMD decided are some triggers, I exhibited pretty much all of them with the exception of a few. And I mean, the lot of them (with the exception of having a period) are a normal, typical, everyday occurrence for me. Stress, caffeine, poor weather, and unscheduled meals are common things in all people. The food chems and preservatives could be more responsible than the others possibly. I mean, can I really blame 3 pieces of salami I ate for this if I exhibited the laundry list of "reasons" you could get a migraine?

"Scumbag Salami Steve"

The truth is, I have always felt like my migraines have been totally, and inexplicably random. Specially since I get them so sporadically, I cannot really think that one thing was the reason why. Sure I would love to know if there was one fucking thing that did this to me but more than likely it is a number of things and total chance. And to think there is a research group that spends millions of dollars trying to figure out what the cause and or reason is to why a person gets them, and all I have is a random, open-ended list of possibilities. Why didn't the lead researchers just admit, "We do not know what the causes are, we spent half of the money from donations and research on hookers and top shelf medical grade marijuana, and the other half on Imitrix stocks." That would have been more noble than creating a universal list of "possible triggers."

And also, WebMD is garbage. Pretty much everything searched on the site will eventually lead you to Brain Tumors, Cancer, or Death as an end result. I used it as a reference because most idiots immediately go on a chosen search browser and go directly to WebMD for the medical "experts" answers. For Christ sake, the association that is supposed to be leading organization to the study on finding the reasons why migraines occur doesn't have the definitive answer, so WebMD is definitely not going to have answer. You would have a better solution for medical inquiries using yahoo answers probably.

"Still a better answer than what most WebMD searches yield."

If you want to know what the solution is, it's take migraine meds, sleep as long as you can in a super dark place that is quiet, and try to be comfortable for 2 - 3 days. Because if you experience anything even near what I do, it will feel something similar to having your head kicked around by the Ugandan Soccer team for about 48 hours after the initial shock.

I believe that food preservatives are more to blame than its being published about. And that the buildup of the chemicals are causing the conflicts in nerves and blood vessel pathways. On a chemical level, and neurological level it could already be proven, but the money involved in food, and in the preservatives are big money. I doubt the FDA would want to stop the use of some of these preservatives. Medicine as I have said before is big business. If it was cured or a single trigger was the answer, billions would be lost.

To finally have a chance to explain what it is like to have severe aural migraines with the aid of having photoshop was kind of necessary. I think that people who do not have migraine headaches look at people who do the same way an adult looks at a child crying at the grocery store registers for candy. The shit is no joke. It sucks. I wouldn't wish or hope for my worst enemies to have them. Well. Maybe just one bloke...

Nuff said.

-TSB


****************************************************************************
-EDIT UPDATE-

This one lasted for 10 days. By far the longest one I have ever endured. I SHOULD have went to the hospital to get a brain scan. The hangover effect lasted that long. Do NOT wait like I did. Go see a specialist if your symptoms are anywhere near like what you have just read. Just do it.

Works Cited

http://www.webmd.com/migraines-headaches/guide/migraines-headaches-migraines

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sumatriptan

http://www.migraineresearchfoundation.org/